Co-application of micro-proppant with horizontal well, multi-stage hydraulic fracturing treatments to improve productivity in the Permian coal measures, Bowen Basin, Australia
Honja Miharisoa Ramanandraibe A , Mohammad Sedaghat B , Raymond JohnsonA School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld 4072, Australia.
B Centre for Natural Gas, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld 4072, Australia.
The APPEA Journal 62(1) 77-91 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ21048
Submitted: 07 January 2022 Accepted: 24 January 2022 Published: 13 May 2022
© 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of APPEA.
Abstract
Coal permeability is the key discriminator in well completion selection in coal wells. Low productivity is often attributed to compartmentalisation and pressure-dependent permeability (PDP) effects. Often, vertical well hydraulic fracturing is used to enhance productivity from lower-permeability coals, however, several authors have noted that coal fracture treatments can generate a large unpropped area of stimulated reservoir volume (SRV) that is generated from natural fracture activation and pressure-dependent leakoff. The result of this study confirms previous studies (using radial, cartesian, and enhanced SRV analytic models) that graded particle or micro-proppant injections in conjunction with hydraulic fracture treatments can be a means to enhance coal productivity in PDP-affected or low-permeability coals. In this work, data from the Bowen Basin will be used to investigate the implementation and benefits of micro-proppants in conjunction with horizontal well, multi-stage, hydraulic fracture treatments. The calibrated model will be based on a Bowen Basin case incorporating petrophysical, diagnostic fracture injection test (DFIT), hydraulic fracture, and can utilise production data to constrain modelling parameters. To better understand and provide guidance on co-application of horizontal, multi-stage hydraulic fracturing in conjunction with micro-proppant injections, a range of factors will be evaluated in this model including initial permeability, permeability anisotropy, fracture half-length, area and conductivity of the enhanced region between fractures, lateral length, and the number of fractures. This model will demonstrate the effectiveness, economic benefits, and optimal number of fracturing stages based on the reservoir parameters.
Keywords: Bandana Coal Measures, Bowen Basin, coal seam gas, coalbed methane, graded particle injection, horizontal wells, hydraulic fracturing, micro-proppants.
Honja Miharisoa Ramanandraibe is a PhD candidate in Petroleum Engineering at the University of Queensland, School of Chemical Engineering. She holds a MSc Eng in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Queensland, a BEng in Land Surveying from the School of Engineering (ESPA), Antananarivo, Madagascar, and a Diploma in Leadership from the University of South Africa (UNISA). Her general research interests focus on enhanced oil recovery, reservoir modelling and characterisation, hydraulic fracture treatments modelling and design, and unconventional resources (i.e. CSG, heavy oil, etc.). She was involved in the university tutoring of reservoir simulation. She is currently the treasurer of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Student Chapter at the University of Queensland. |
Mohammad Sedaghat is a research fellow at The University of Queensland Centre for Natural Gas. Mohammad holds a PhD in Petroleum and Reservoir Engineering, the University of Melbourne, and conducts research on modelling and simulation of multiphase flow in porous media. His research interests are fracture characterisation, wettability alteration, upscaling, coal seam gas, transient relative permeability, groundwater modelling and CO2 sequestration. Mohammad has recently been involved in various research and industry focused projects including coal seam gas modelling in Surat and Bowen Basins, CO2 sequestration in Queensland and Victoria, and water infiltration modelling in Nevada, the USA. |
Prof Raymond Johnson Jr is currently Professor of Well Engineering and Production Technology in the School of Chemical Engineering and Energi Simulation Co-chair in the University of Queensland, Centre for Natural Gas. He has a PhD in mining engineering, a MSc in petroleum engineering, a Graduate Diploma in Information Technology, and a BA in Chemistry. Prof Johnson is a Life Member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), past Queensland SPE Section chair, twice co-Chair of the SPE Unconventional Reservoir Conference Asia Pacific, 2019 co-Chair and 2021 Advisor of the URTeC Asia Pacific Conference, and twice SPE Regional Technical Award Recipient (Production Operations and Management and Information). Prof Johnson is a Fellow in Engineers Australia. |
Vanessa Santiago is a PhD student at the University of Queensland. Her technical interests include CSG modelling, reservoir simulation, reservoir stimulation, and rock properties. She has past experience with research and university tutoring of reservoir engineering. She holds a BSc in petroleum engineering. She is a member of SPE. |
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